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CALGARY- An animal lover who came across a disturbing scene in a popular park has gone straight to the city to complain.

Linda Lelonde says she and her husband were walking in Fish Creek Park on Tuesday evening, when they came across a beaver struggling in a trap.

“I just happened to see the beaver laying in the grass in the ditch, and I said to my husband ‘something’s wrong, his tail is flapping.’”

A jogger happened to come by moments later, and that’s when they realized the animal was in trouble.

“[He] came up and was horrified, and told us [the beaver] was biting off his leg and was basically bleeding to death,” Lalonde remembers.

It turns out the beaver was caught in a Conibear trap, which is considered humane as it usually kills animals quickly. The city says the trap was put in the storm water retention pond on purpose.

“This beaver has been blocking the flow of water that goes under a pathway,” explains Randy Girling from the City of Calgary. “With it blocking this culvert the pathway gets full of water, it’s a safety hazard for people pushing strollers, riding bikes.”

Linda Lelonde stares at the spot where she witnessed a beaver caught in a trap. She says the animal was trying to chew its leg off in order to get free.

Tracy Nagai/Global News

There are no traps set anywhere else in the park, but Lelonde is calling for animal control issues to be dealt with in a more humane way. She is now taking up her case with the mayor’s office.

It’s not known if the beaver survived, as it was not in the trap when city workers showed up to collect it.